Processing, storing and monitoring of image and audio data

ABSTRACT

An image and/or audio data processing and storage system includes a monitoring system and a plurality of cameras connected thereto. The image and/or audio data processing and storage system contains n units that are independent of each other, with each of the units having a data processing device containing a first segment that compresses digital image and/or audio data as well as a first storage device and a second storage device that are fed the same image and/or audio data compressed by the data processing device for storage.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and hereby claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. §119 from German Patent Application No. DE 202008012473.5, filedon Sep. 19, 2008, in the German Patent Office, and from German PatentApplication No. DE 102009023997.9-53, file on Jun. 5, 2009, in theGerman Patent Office. The contents of both of these patent documents areincorporated herein by reference. This application is acontinuation-in-part of both German Patent Application No. DE202008012473.5 and German Patent Application No. DE 102009023997.9-53.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an image and audio data processing andstorage system, as well as to a monitoring system connected to aplurality of cameras that contains the image and audio data processingand storage system.

BACKGROUND

Conventional monitoring systems and devices that record and store one orseveral scenes commonly contain a plurality of cameras that provideimage data and, if a microphone is present, audio data of the scenes.For example, FIG. 1 shows a plurality of cameras 30 that record thegoings-on at a location frequented by many people. If analog cameras areused to record the images and/or sound, the cameras 30 are eachconnected to an analog-to-digital converter 22, with a coder 24 for datacompression being arranged downstream. If a digital camera is used, thecameras 30 are each directly connected to the coder 24. Each camera 30,optional A/D converter 22 and coder 24 together form one channel of amultitude of n channels, with n being a whole number greater than orequal to 2. To this effect, the camera, A/D converter and coder arecontrolled and actuated by a controller. The compressed image and/oraudio data of the n channels are fed via a network 40, for example alocal network (LAN, Local Area Network), into a central storage devicethat is actuated by a controller for the management of the data fed intoit and that has a multitude of hard drives to store the data. Theoverall capacity of the storage device 50 lies within the range ofseveral terabytes for about thirty channels.

In known monitoring systems, the controller allocated to the storagedevice provides for a relatively efficient utilization of the availablestorage space, with provisions being made to a limited degree for lossof data in the event of a defect or malfunctioning of smaller storageareas. For example, if one of the hard drives fails, the redundantstorage management of the controller is capable of compensating theattendant data loss at least partially. But at a minimum, the loss of alarge portion of the data that were stored so far can be prevented, andthe intended operation of the storage device can be maintained. However,preventing the loss of the data stored so far and maintaining theoperation of the storage device is possible only after carrying out areorganization of the storage device by the controller itself, whichresults in no or very few data being able to be stored due to theincreased load. As far as the avoidance of any loss of data andmaintaining the intended operation are concerned, the storage device issubject to very narrow limits. If, for example, two hard drives of thestorage device fail, the controller can no longer carry out a successfulreorganization of the storage device due to the amount of data that areno longer accessible by it.

In addition to that, the network 40 is susceptible to defects as well.The network defects may result in image and/or audio data, which was federror-free into the network, appearing at the network's output delayed,distorted or not at all. Thus, a system for processing, monitoring andstoring multi-channel image and/or audio data is sought that exhibitsincreased operational reliability as compared to known image processingsystems.

SUMMARY

An image and/or audio data processing and storage system has n unitsthat are independent of each other, with n being an integer greater thanor equal to two. Each of the units has a data processing device and twostorage devices. Each data processing device includes a first segmentthat compresses digital image and/or audio data. The compressed digitalimage and/or audio data provided by the data processing device is fedinto a first storage device and a second storage device. Each unit thusforms an independent channel into which separate data are fed,compressed and stored. Following compression, the data fed into eachunit are stored by the first and second storage devices and are thusavailable in duplicate following compression. If one of the storagedevices fails, the data stored until then can still be recalled from theother storage device, which can also store future data. Moreover, evenif the other storage device of the unit in question fails as well, onlythe data of the one channel will be affected since the data fed,processed and stored via the other channels are treated separately inother channels or units. Thus, on the one hand, the danger is minimizedthat image and/or audio data fed into the image and/or audio dataprocessing and storage device are lost, and on the other hand, theintended operation of the image and/or audio data processing and storagedevice is maintained as a whole even after one or several units or,respectively, channels fail.

Furthermore, a monitoring system is provided with n cameras forrecording image and audio data of one or several scenes, with n being anatural number greater than or equal to two. A corresponding image andaudio data processing and storage system has n units that areindependent of each other. Each of the units contains a data processingdevice that contains a first segment that compresses digital image andaudio data as well as storage devices into which the compressed data arefed. The compressed image and/or audio data provided by the dataprocessing device are fed for storage into a first storage devicesegment and a second storage device segment. In this arrangement, thecameras are allocated to only one of the units and transmit the recordedimage and/or audio data to the unit allocated to them. This creates ann-channel monitoring system that has the same advantages as those thatresult from the image and/or audio data processing and storage systemdescribed above. In addition to that, no network is required to transmitdata between the data processing device and the storage devices of achannel, thereby increasing operational reliability even further.

The continued developments described in the following relate to theimage and/or audio data processing and storage system as well as to themonitoring system that are designated here simply as the “system”. Thedata processing device of each unit contains a second segment that isconnected upstream to the first segment and that digitalizes analogimage and/or audio data. Thus, alternatively, not only digital but alsoanalog image and/or audio data can be processed and stored.

The first storage device and the second storage device of each unit areeach designed as a hard drive, thereby providing a reliable andcost-effective storage medium. Each unit has an error detecting devicethat records and displays any faulty functioning of the first and/orsecond storage devices. It is thus possible easily to recognize anyfaulty component of the system and to replace it with a functioningcomponent.

Furthermore, each unit is equipped with an image and/or audio dataoutput device that is configured in such a way that image and/or audiodata fed to the unit at any given moment are outputted externally inreal time, or that image and/or audio data already stored in the firstor second storage devices are outputted externally at any point in timevia a connection. Thus, the processed and stored data can be inputtedinto a network without the data being impacted by any malfunctionsoccurring within the network.

Replacing a defective unit is made easier by the fact that each unit isdesigned in the same way in the form of a blade, with the units beingarranged in a rack, in particular in a 19-inch rack. An electric powersupply device has two parts that are configured in such a way that bothparts can jointly supply the device with electric current, but also thateach part can supply the device with electric current by itself. Thisincreases operational reliability even further. The electric powersupply of the cameras is provided in a simple manner by the electricpower supply device that feeds the current supplied by it into therespective camera via the unit allocated to it.

Other embodiments and advantages are described in the detaileddescription below. This summary does not purport to define theinvention. The invention is defined by the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, where like numerals indicate like components,illustrate embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 (prior art) is a schematic diagram of a conventional n-channelmonitoring system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an n-channel monitoring system of apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of theinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 2 shows an n-channel monitoring system that includes an imageand/or audio data processing and storage system formed by n units 20 andan analog camera 30 connected to each of the n units, wherein n is aninteger equal to or greater than two. For the preferred embodiment, nhas a value of thirty. The monitoring system serves the supervision of a“hot spot”, for example a traffic junction or a location frequented bymany pedestrians, with up to n cameras being suitably positioned at thelocation to be monitored.

The cameras each have an image and/or audio section with the aid ofwhich successive events at the location and in its surroundings can berecorded visually and/or acoustically. In this context, a recording ofevents solely on an acoustic basis is thinkable, albeit unusual. Wheresolely acoustic recordings are made, the cameras are replaced bymicrophones. The cameras are connected to the n-channel image and audiodata processing and storage system via shielded cables whose lengthshould be as short as possible in order to minimize any perturbations,with the system being formed by n independent units 20 with regard tothe processing and storage of data.

The respective units 20 contain at their input a data processing devicecomposed of a first segment 24, a coder, and, optionally, a secondsegment 22, an analog-to-digital converter. Here, the second segment 22and the first segment 24 are connected in series, with the secondsegment being upstream of the first segment. The output of the firstsegment 24 is connected to the input of a parallel circuit composed of afirst storage device 26 and a second storage device 28. FIG. 2 showsonly a functional diagram of the system of the invention. Additionalcomponents of the invention that supply the components already referredto with electric current or that ensure the intended operation, inparticular their coordination, have been omitted in FIG. 2 for reasonsof clarity. Moreover, one of ordinary skill in the art will be capable,based on his technical know how, to provide the concrete circuiting or,respectively, wiring of the components after learning their functiondescribed below.

The following is a schematic description of how data are processed andstored by each channel. In the event that analog data should beinvolved, the image and/or audio data recorded by each camera of achannel are fed to the second segment 22, which performs ananalog-to-digital conversion of the data fed into it. Should the camerainvolve a digital camera whose emitted data are already available indigital form, the second segment may be omitted or, respectively,bypassed. The first segment 24 downstream of the second segment 22 is acoder that compresses the image and/or audio data fed into it, therebyreducing the quantity of the data to be processed further. The imageand/or audio data compressed by the first segment 24 are fed into afirst storage device 26 as well as into a second storage device 28 thatare designed, for example, as hard drives (HDD, hard disk drive) with acapacity of 250 G-bytes, 500 G-bytes or 750 G-bytes. Storage of the dataon the first and second storage devices 26, 28 occurs in real time andalmost simultaneously. In this context, processing and storage of thedata of the channel occurs under the control of one or severalcontrollers (not shown) that ensure the intended functioning andcoordination of the components 22, 24, 26 and 28. Control of the cameras30 may also occur under the guidance of a controller.

The controller or controllers provided for each unit 20 periodicallyreview the functionality of the respective first and second storagedevices 26, 28 and produce an optical and/or acoustical alert in theevent that a defect or a failure of one or both storage devices of aunit 20 of the respective channel is detected.

An output unit provided for each channel or unit 20 ensures that notonly the digitalized and compressed data fed momentarily to therespective unit but also the data already stored in devices 26, 28 aretransmitted to an output connection (not shown). The output unit iscontrolled by the controller. The output data are in turn transferredfrom the output connection to a network such as a LAN or a globalnetwork such as the Internet so that the image and/or audio datarecorded in real time or already stored can be transmitted separate fromeach other to any location for evaluation.

The respective units 20 are designed uniformly in the form of a blade sothat they can be easily replaced in the event of failure. In particular,it is advantageous to arrange the units in their totality in a rack,particularly a 19-inch rack. The rack is equipped with a back blade thatprovides the system with a redundant power source. To this end, theelectric current supply contains two parts that can supply the systemwith sufficient electric current either jointly during normal operation(alternating under full load or simultaneously under half load) or alonein the event of the failure of one part. The two parts of the powersupply provide not only the units 20 but also the cameras 30 connectedwith each unit with electric current via the connecting cable providedbetween them.

Although the present invention has been described in connection withcertain specific embodiments for instructional purposes, the presentinvention is not limited thereto. Accordingly, various modifications,adaptations, and combinations of various features of the describedembodiments can be practiced without departing from the scope of theinvention as set forth in the claims.

1. An apparatus, comprising: a first unit; and a second unit independentof the first unit, wherein each of the first unit and the second unithas a data processing device that includes a first segment, a firststorage device and a second storage device, wherein the first segmentcompresses digital image data, wherein each of the first storage deviceand the second storage device receives and stores the same compresseddigital image data from the first segment.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first segment compresses digital audio data.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the data processing device of each of thefirst unit and second unit includes a second segment located upstream ofthe first segment, and wherein the second segment digitizes analog imagedata.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the first storagedevice and the second storage device is a hard drive.
 5. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the second unit includes an error detecting devicethat detects and displays a defective functioning of the first storagedevice and the second storage device.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first unit is coupled to a first camera, and wherein thefirst unit includes an image data output unit that separately outputsthe image data recorded by the camera in real time and the image dataalready stored in the first storage device and in the second storagedevice.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first unit and thesecond unit are uniformly designed in the form of a blade, wherein thefirst unit and the second unit are arranged in a rack.
 8. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein an electric current supply unit has two parts,wherein each part can supply the first unit with electric current byitself, and wherein the two parts can jointly supply the first unit withelectric current.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second unitis coupled to a second camera, and wherein the second camera is suppliedwith electric current through the second unit.
 10. An apparatus,comprising: a first image data processing and storage system; a secondimage data processing and storage system that is independent of thefirst image data processing and storage system; a first camera connectedto the first image data processing and storage system; and a secondcamera connected to the second image data processing and storage system,wherein each of the processing and storage systems is connected to onlyone camera, wherein image data recorded by each camera is transmitted toonly one processing and storage system, and wherein each of theprocessing and storage systems comprises: a data processing device thatoutputs compressed digital image data; a first storage device thatreceives and stores the compressed digital image data; and a secondstorage device that receives and stores the compressed digital imagedata.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first camera includes amicrophone that records audio data, and wherein the audio data recordedby the first camera is transmitted to the first image data processingand storage system.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein all of theimage data processing and storage systems are uniformly designed in theform of a blade, wherein the first and second image data processing andstorage systems are arranged in a rack.